losing a lot of chicks!

[mnjlovell]

We have lost most of our latest order of chicks. they all seem to be doing fine, then they get wek and die suddenly. They all have very loose stools, but no other symptoms until a rapid decline, weakness, gasping (even though they can still peep) and death; Sometimes from 100% normal behavior to death within an hour. We have been treating with Corid for 2 days now with no improvement. tried ACV in their water previous 5 days. Chicks at 10 days old now and we have been losing them since day 1.

Hatchery blamed out brooder, but their temps have been stable and warm since the first night. We even moved them into a smaller brooder we have used before, with VERY stable temps, and got no improvement. We have already lost 90% of them

Video of one linked. This one is a turkey, but the same is happening to the chickens. This one looked fine 30 minutes prior.

 

[Eggcessive]

What temperature on the floor with a thermometer are you using? What is the room temp? What type of heat source or heat lamp? Have you seen any pasty butt? Have youndipped their beaks into the water and food when they arrived, or if they have been acting lethargic? Do you have any Poultry NutriDrench, or SaveAChick electrolytes to give? How long were they in shipping, and what were the temperatures they were in?

 

[Shevraeth]

Are you using a heat lamp? If so, is the bulb shatterproof, possibly Teflon coated? Teflon bulbs are deadly to poultry and can cause this type of massive loss

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...not-attacked-update-teflon-poisoning.1215065/

 

[mnjlovell]

i don't see anywhere that this is a shatterproof or Teflon coated heat lamp. It appears to be a Philips R40 from home depot. We have used it before without issue.

ground temp directly under the heat lamp is 90f. ambient is 78-85 the last 3 days.

they all traveled for 2.5 days. (2 separate orders)

The chicks are now 10 and 11 days old. they are eating and drinking normally, until they become lethargic... we had them on 2Tbsp/pint of water (1/4C per Gal) for days 5-9, then switched to plain water and Corid for the last 2 days (in case it was Coccidiosis, diarrhea is the only outward symptom). im now wondering if it would be better to give them rooster booster (that's what we have) to get the electrolytes back in them (and stop the Corid).

 

[mnjlovell]

we also have a brooder plate we can switch to (and would prefer), but it takes up 2/3 of their current brooder and doesn't leave much room for their food and water. That would cause a decrease in ambient air temp (but not by much, its still about 80f here in the day and 50 at night. its a large brooder plate, so it can easily accommodate the chicks we have left. we only used the heat lamp at the hatcheries insistence.

We could also use the heat lamp at night only to maintain ambient temp in the 70's... or run a heater nearby.

We have raised a lot of chicks in the last decade or so. I don't think its a temperature issue.

 

[Eggcessive]

Very hard to know what the issue was. It sounds like you have experience and know what you are doing. I would lean toward shipping stress with the longer time in transit, but I may be wrong. I usually get mine shipped overnight from a state hatchery, at least in the past. The hatchery should have replaced your early losses. Very sorry for your loss.

 

[mnjlovell]

Very hard to know what the issue was. It sounds like you have experience and know what you are doing. I would lean toward shipping stress with the longer time in transit, but I may be wrong. I usually get mine shipped overnight from a state hatchery, at least in the past. The hatchery should have replaced your early losses. Very sorry for your loss.

They sent 5 'extras', so i supposed they did replace the first 5

I was thinking they should be over shipping issues by now. They appear to be thriving, until they are not.

2.5 days is typical shipping time here, we live fairly remote. We have had zero 'unexplained' losses on the last 2 batches (80 chicks total).

We wont be using that hatchery again based on the only 2 customer experiences we have had with them; this issue, where they just kept saying our brooder is the problem, and out first order (54 birds). The first order was the first time we ordered to our new location, and the tracking was saying our birds wouldn't arrive until Monday (would have been 5 days in transit). we called the hatchery and all they said was "don't worry, just let us know how many die and we will refund you". I wasn't happy about that, but luckily USPS tracking is not very accurate and we received them on Friday (2.5 day transit) with only one not surviving the trip.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry that you had such a bad experience this year. What state are you in? I have used Meyer in Polk Ohio a couple of times back when I was getting chicks.

 

[seminolewind]

Treat with Corid again for 5 days and dribble some on the side of their beak.. . Another thought. make them mush with warm water and chick feed. Make sure they all get a few bites. Mine loved it with vanilla yogurt.

If they get sick (possibly from coccidiosis), then they don't eat. Or drink. And get sicker. E-lytes are good

That chick looks really sick.

If you can tube feed, it's a bonus.

 

[McChooky]

Its recommend the floor temperature in their brooder be kept 95 degrees F the first week. Most hatcheries will refuse to replace any that die if their recommendations aren't followed.